Egg-tester.



0. MEYER.

EGG TESTER. APPLICATION FILED JULY 1, 1913.

1, 127,794. Patented Feb. 9, 1915.

ff# C i OTTO MEYEB, 0F NORTH BERGEN, NEW JERSEY.

EGG-TESTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. n, 1915.

Application filed July 1, 191B. Serial No. 776,745.

To aZZ whom it' may concern.'

Be it known that l, O'rro MEYER, a citizen of the United States, and residing at North Bergen, in the county of Hudson and State of New Jersey, have invent-ed certain new and useful improvements in Egg-Testers, of which the following is a specification, such as will enable those skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to means or devices for testing the condition of eggs, or determining whether they are fresh, good, or bad, and the object thereof is to provide an improved device of this class by means of which the condition of an egg is tested or determined by the weight thereof; and with this and other objects in view the invention consists in a device of the class specified constructed as hereinafter described and claimed.

It is a well known fact that a newly laid or fresh egg weighs more than at any other time, and that the weight thereof decreases with its age, or with the change in the condition thereof from good to bad; and my improved egg tester is based upon the knowledge of this fact and its operation is controlled thereby.

The invention is fully disclosed in the following specification of which the accompanying drawing forms a part, in which the separate parts of my improvement are designated by suitable reference characters in each of the views, and in which Figure l is a plan view of an egg testing device made according to my invention Fig. 2 a central longitudinal section on the line of Fig. 1;-Fig. 3 a transverse section on the line 3 3 of Fig. lg-lioz 4 a view similar to Fig. l but showing only one end portion of the tester and showing an in position to be tested ,-Fig. 5 a view similar to Fig. i but showing an egg of smaller size than that shown in Fig. 4, and F ig. 6 a side view of the central portion of the tester and showing only a detail thereof.

In the practice of my invention, as shown in the drawing, I provide a frame casing, or support a comprising a base plate or member a2 one end portion of which, in the forni of construction shown. is provided with raised side and end boards c3 and at, and pivoted centrally, or approximately centrally of the base plate or member a2, as shown at a5, is a balance device b comprising two end portions o2 and b3 arranged in parallel planes or approximately so, and connected by a central vertical web portion b4 and, in practice, the parts b2, b3 and bt are preferably composed of a single strip of material bent into the required form.

ln the construction shown, the end portion b2 of the balance device is normally inclos'ed by the side and end boards a3 and r/,J of the frame or support, and the opposite end portion of the frame or support may also be provided with side and end boards if desired, or the entire frame or support may be made box-shaped in form, or in any other way. Arranged centrally and longitudinally of the end o2 of the balance device is a tube c which is secured to the part b2 by keepers c2, or in any other way, and placed in the tube c is a spiral spring c3. The end part b3 of the balance device provided with raised side wings or keepers CZ which diverge outwardly, or in the direction of the central part of said balance device, and at one side edge of said end portion is a projecting thumb or finger piece (Z2.

The side wings or keepers (l form part of an egg holder, another part of which consists of a yoke-shaped device e movable longitudinally of the part b3 of the balance device, and resting on said part and provided with flaring sides, which operate in connection with the wings or keepers cl to form a receptacle e2 in which, in practice, the egg to be tested is placed, and connected with the head portion of the yoke-shaped device e is a rod e3 the free end of which enters the tube c and bears on the spring c3 there. The pivoting of the balance device at c5 is effected by means of raised V-shaped ears y with which the base or bottom meniber a2 is provided at its opposite side edges, and the cross part b4 or the ends thereof are projected so as to rest in said if-shaped ears j.

Connected with the base plate or member a2 forwardly of the pivot support at c5 of the balance device is a vertical arm g the top of which is provided with a horizontal plate g2 which ranges longitudinally of the device and on which is placed a scaleor scale plate g3 provided at its inner edge with scale marks g4 and on which are placed. corresponding with said scale marks, the words, New laid," Strictly fresh,7 Fresln Medium, Poor, Stale, and Bath and secured to the part 53 of the balance device is a vertical arm 7L provided at the top thereof with an outwardly directed pointer 72,2 which opera-tes in connection with the scale marks g". A line spiral spring a' is placed between the part b2 of the balance device and the bottom or base plate c2, and the normal position of the balance device is that shown in Fig. Q, in which the end portion b3 is raised and-the end portion b2 depressed, and in this position the pointer of the arm /z is at the scale mark designated by the wort Bad In Fig. e I have shown at j an egg placed in the egg receiving or holdmg chamber e2, and this operation forces the movable part e forwardly, or in the direction of the arrow :r of Fig. 2, and compresses the spring c3 and depresses the end portion b3 of the balance device, and the size of the egg governs the extent 'to which the movable part of the egg holder is forced forwardly, and no matter what the size of the egg may be, the operation of the tester will be exactly the same and the quality of the egg will be determined, and in Fig. 5 I have shown an egg jg which is smaller than the egg j, and the condition of which is shown, by the pointer ft2 of the scale, to be the same as that of the egg j. In other words, both of these eggs are determined to be fresh, or strictly fresh, according to the method of reading the scale. If the egg that is being tested is old and not in good condition, the end b3 of the balance device will not be depressed to the extent that it would be if the egg were fresh or good, and with the parts adjusted, as shown, the balance device and pointer /fwould assume the position shown in Fig. l, if a thoroughly bad egg were being tested, and as will be seen, the position of the pointer LZ in any case will indicate the condition of the egg on the scale or scale plate g3.

As is well known, the air cell in an egg is in the large end thereof, and as the age of the egg increases, the air cell therein becomes larger and the center of gravitv of the egg correspondingly moves in the direction of the smaller end thereof, and in order that mv improved egg tester may work successfully, the egg or eggs must be put in the tester with the smaller end pointing forwardlv, as shown in Figs. 4 and The successful operation of the device also depends upon the angle of the wings or keepers cl, and the sides of the yoke-shaped device c which together form the egg receptacle, taken in connection with the weight of the plunger rod e3, but the angle of the parts (Z and ofthe si des of the part c. and the weight of the plunger rod e3 must all be determined in the manufacture of the device` and this can onli7 be accomplished bv testing the device in actual use, and this is a question determined by the manufacturer, and when the device has been actually tested, it will always work accurately, no matter what the size or cond.tion of the egg or eggs may be. It will also be understood that the greater the divergence of the parts cl and of the sides of the plate e, the greater the weight of said part e3 must be, as this feature of the construction determines the amount of the forward movement of the part c3.'

In the use of this egg tester, it should be placed on a perfectly level support in order to insure the exact operation thereof, and my invention is not limited to the details of construction herein shown and described, and changes in and modiication of the various parts thereof may be made, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of my invention or sacrificing its advantages.

I--iaving fully described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters .Patent is:-

l. An egg testing device comprising a stationary member, and a balance device pivoted therein, one end of said balance device being provided with an egg holder formed of two parts one of which is movable and spring controlled, the stationary member being provided with a scale plate, and the balance device with a pointer operating in connection therewith.

2. An egg testing device comprising a stationary member, and a balance device pivoted therein, one end of said balance device being provided with an egg holder, formed of two parts one of which is movable and spring controlled, the stationary member being provided with a scale plate, and the balance device with a pointer operating in connection therewith, that end of the balance device opposite the egg holder being also provided with a spiral spring which is connected therewith and with the stationary member.

3. An egg testing device comprising a stationary member and a balance device pivoted in connection therewith, one end of said balance device being provided with an egg holder and the other end being connected with a stationary member by a spring, the stationary member being also provided with a scale, and the balance device with a pointer operating in connection with said scale.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed my name in presence of the subscribing witnesses this 30th day of June 1913.

OTTO MEYER.

lVitnesses C. IiIULnnANY, S. Axnnrws.

Copies of this patent :may be obtained for ve cents each. by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

